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Union warning on construction skills rip-off

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Construction union UCATT is warning workers not to be duped into paying over the odds for construction safety and skills papers. The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) cards are a mandatory requirement for construction workers on most sites. In order to receive a card workers have to have first passed the health and safety test. UCATT's warning came after serious concerns were raised by CSCS about third party agencies, who charge workers significantly above the standard fees. Steve Murphy, general secretary of UCATT, said: 'The CSCS card is the single most important method in ensuring that construction workers have the correct skills and they make sites safer. For a third party to be profiting from this scheme in an underhand manner is reprehensible.' The normal cost of a CSCS card is £30 and the health and safety test costs £17.50. But in one case a third party agency has been charging an additional £25.50 just for the test. The UCATT leader added: 'UCATT's advice is for workers who need a CSCS card to double check that they are speaking to the CSCS helpdesk or are on the CSCS website before they book anything, in order to ensure that they don't have to pay hidden charges.'

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